F-I-C-T-I-O-N Spells New Fiction at JCPL!

I love Facebook; not really to report any news of my own, but to look at photographs and funny things that other people post.

One day recently while surfing the Internet, I came across Reader’s Digest list of “10 of the Goofiest Facebook Groups.” Among them are “Friends Don’t Let Friends Wear Crocs,” “Students Against Backpacks With Wheels,” and my personal favorite, “People Who Always Have to Spell Their Names for Other People.”

I am one of those “people,” but am the one always asking others to spell their name for me. One day, a woman phoned and I did not catch her name from the start of the conversation. Sort of embarrassed to ask her to repeat herself, I decided to ask her to spell it instead.

From the other end of the phone came an exasperated sigh as she spelled, “S-m-i-t-h.” In my own defense, it REALLY could have been spelled with a “y” instead of an “i,” couldn’t it? One more thing I’d like to “spell out for you” is a list of new fiction at your local branch of the Jasper County Public Library, and this is one time you’ll be glad I did!

Geiger is an expert at “information retrieval.” His is an invaluable gift, and a tool used to extract the truth from even the most unwilling subjects. Geiger’s one rule, though, is that he only pushes his subjects so far, taking them to the point that pain takes a backseat to fear AND he will only work with adults, never children. When one of his clients demands that Geiger pull the truth out of a twelve year old boy, he instinctively protects the child, taking him to New York to get him out of harm’s way. The race is on, however, to get to the truth behind the boy’s secret, and as Geiger and his partner, Harry Boddicker delve deeper into the case, their lives intersect with danger in “The Inquisitor” by Mark Allen Smith.

When Gemma Hardy is orphaned as a child, she leaves her native Iceland for Scotland, where she will live with her beloved uncle and his family. The death of her doting uncle leaves her in the charge of her resentful aunt, and it soon becomes clear that Gemma is nothing more than an unwelcome guest. When the opportunity to attend a private school presents itself, Gemma jumps at the chance to leave her aunt’s home and begin a new life at Claypoole. However, Claypoole loses its appeal when it becomes apparent that Gemma is no more welcome there than with her aunt. When the school goes bankrupt, Gemma takes a job as an au pair at Blackbird Hill, the home of Mr. Sinclair, a London businessman. Intrigued by her new boss, Gemma finds herself drawn to Hugh Sinclair, and begins a journey of passion, betrayal and discovery in “The Flight of Gemma Hardy” by Margot Livesey.

Running with a rich party crowd, JW is having trouble keeping up appearances and gets involved with drugs to stay financially afloat. Meanwhile, Jorge, a young Latino drug dealer, has just escaped from jail, and JW tracks him down in order to cover more ground in the drug circuit. Jorge is a much sought-after young man, though, with thugs and other drug dealers hot on his trail, and as all of these characters cross paths en-route to more money, they find themselves pitted against one another in a deadly game of revenge in “Easy Money” by Jens Lapidus.

Desperate to escape a dark secret from his past, Wesley Case settles in Montana, working as a liaison between the American and Canadian militaries in an attempt to smooth over the Native Americans’ unresolved anger after the Civil War. Wanting only to buy land and settle into ranch life, Case’s life is further complicated when he falls in love with the recently widowed Ada Tarr. Ada already has a suitor, though; the jealous and vindictive Michael Dunne. Along with the American government’s vicious assault on the Native American population, Case finds himself personally under assault as well in “A Good Man” by Guy Vanderhaeghe.

You say po-ta-to, I say po-tah-to, you say to-ma-to, I say to-mah-to, you say Smith, I say Smyth, but we all speak the same language when it comes to good reading material. Aren’t you glad I spelled it all out for you?